Image Credit: Edwin Remsberg
As 2015 comes to a close, faculty, staff, students and alumni from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources have many reasons to celebrate a successful year gone by. Listed in no particular order, we take a look back at 15 highlights from 2015!
1. Welcome Dean Craig Beyrouty
Dr. Craig Beyrouty officially started on November 1st as Dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Maryland. Involved in teaching, research and Extension for more than 35 years, Dean Beyrouty joined the University of Maryland from Colorado State University, where he most recently served as dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences. Dean Beyrouty succeeds Dr. Cheng-i Wei who served as the College of AGNR’s dean for ten years and is now director of the college’s International Programs Office.
2. AGNR Student Teams on Top:
Student groups continued to bring home top honors in national competitions throughout 2015. Whether it was the Turf Team winning the Sports Turf Management Association Student Challenge for the third consecutive year or a group of students from the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture who designed the winning proposal for the EPA Campus RainWorks Challenge, Terps from the College of AGNR proved they can match up against any university in the country.
3. Faculty Research Delivers Impact
From genetically engineering piglets using revolutionary technology to isolating fuel-producing bacteria to understanding how the American elite influence the income gap, researchers in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources were busy throughout 2015 making significant contributions to science that will impact the lives of citizens around the world. Visit www.agresearch.umd.edu to stay up-to-date on future advancements.
4. Landscape Management Partners with CYC to Build Kids New Playground
Led by Dr. Steven Cohan from the Department of Plant Science & Landscape Architecture, a group of landscape management students teamed up with peers from the College of Education and the School of Architecture to design and build an interactive playground space at the Center for Young Children on campus. Inspired by the national Come Alive Outside campaign, the space focuses on getting kids to learn and play in the natural environment.
5. Three AGNR Students Receive Prestigious NOAA Hollings Scholarships
Environmental Science and Policy sophomore Annie Rice, as well as Environmental Science and Technology sophomores Maya Spaur and Victoria Monsaint-Queeney (also double majoring in English and concentrating in Environmental Health) were among a total of nine University of Maryland students to receive NOAA Hollings Scholarships this year. The scholarship, awarded to just 120 students across the country annually, provides students with a two-year, $8,000-per-year scholarship, as well as a 10-week, full-time internship position starting the summer after the recipient’s junior year.
6. Faculty Rake in Awards
Numerous outstanding faculty from the College of AGNR were recognized as leaders in their fields with prestigious awards during 2015. For example, Stephanie Lansing from the Department of Environmental Science and Technology received the Junior Faculty Award from the Council on the Environment; Abani Pradhan from the Department of Nutrition and Food Science was honored with the 2015 Chauncey Starr Distinguished Young Risk Analyst Award from the Society for Risk Analysis; and Lisa Taneyhill from the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences was appointed to an international gene drive study panel. The list goes on!
7. HGIC Celebrates 25 Years of Service
For 25 years, the Home and Garden Information Center has been answering Marylanders’ questions about pests and plants. An arm of the University of Maryland Extension, the center provides free, research-based information to everyone from apartment dwellers with ants to avid gardeners with aphids. Its team of certified horticulturists has fielded more than a few odd questions among nearly a half-million phone calls and online queries. Terp Magazine compiled a fun list of some of the HGIC’s oddest requests.
8. Saving Stink Bugs for Science
When Entomology and Extension specialists found themselves with a stink bug deficit following a colony collapse early in 2015, they turned to the public for help. People from as far away as New York, Georgia and Ohio answered the researchers’ calls to save stink bugs for science and send them to College Park. The lab was able to collect roughly 1,000 bugs to complete research projects on the invasive pests.
9. 2+2 Program Expands Borders
In 2015, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources took steps to expand its 2+2 program, which allows academically talented students to study two years at a university in China followed by two at the University of Maryland. This fall, College administrators signed agreements with both China Agricultural University (CAU) and Xiamen University to allow students to focus their studies on environmental science – a new area for the 2+2 program. While the College of AGNR had a previous agreement with CAU, the partnership with Xiamen University is brand new.
10. Howard County Farmer Donates Estate to 4-H
The sale of development rights and real estate of an 80-acre farm bequeathed to the Maryland 4-H Foundation by University of Maryland alumnus Lansdale Pue translated into more than $3 million to support numerous 4-H programs, scholarships and trips. Pue was a seventh generation farmer whose family operated a dairy from 1931 to 2006 and later raised beef cattle, row crops and hay. He graduated from the University of Maryland’s College of Agriculture & Natural Resources in 1968 and was a member of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. With no heirs active in farming to carry on the family tradition, Pue made the decision to leave his land to the Maryland 4-H Foundation.
11. IAA 50th Anniversary
The University of Maryland’s Institute of Applied Agriculture celebrates its 50th anniversary in the 2015/2016 academic year. Enrollment in the IAA is at a ten-year high and the number of faculty has nearly tripled in the last seven years. The IAA is an undergraduate certificate program offering eight 60-credit academic certificate concentrations that provide students with the entrepreneurial and technical skills needed to manage profitable agricultural enterprises. These include farming operations, golf courses, sports fields, horticulture businesses and landscape companies.
12. Diamondback Fire Wins 1st Race
Diamondback Fire, the first thoroughbred foal born on the University of Maryland’s campus in nearly 30 years, won the first race he entered at Laurel Park on Sept. 4. Born in March of 2013, Diamondback Fire received his racing name after the university community submitted suggestions and then voted for their favorites. He was then sold in December of that year for $9,000 to Lou Rao Jr., his current owner.
13. Terp Farm Harvest Festival
More than 500 people visited the Upper Marlboro agricultural research facility for the inaugural Terp Farm Fall Harvest Festival October 9th. The festival was organized to introduce the university community to Terp Farm – a collaborative project between the Department of Dining Services, the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources and the Office of Sustainability. Shuttle buses provided by the Department of Transportation Services departed every half hour from the Adele H. Stamp Student Union to bring students to the festival. The event proved so successful, volunteers had to call for additional buses to take students home after the event concluded.
14. 1st MD Agriculture and Environmental Law Conference
Approximately 100 people attended the first-ever Agriculture and Environmental Law Conference organized by the Agricultural Law Education Initiative held in Annapolis on November 20th. Participants included a mix of producers, agricultural service providers, university officials, state leaders, attorneys and environmentalists. ALEI is a collaboration under University of Maryland: MPowering the State and combines expertise from the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Francis King Carey School of Law at the University of Maryland Baltimore and the School of Agriculture and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
15. AGNR Class of 2015
The College of AGNR sent more than 300 fearless graduates into the world in 2015, fully equipped and trained to improve our world for the better. Whether it’s medical school, a job at a non-profit or government agency, veterinary school or a farm out west, AGNR students receiving their degrees in May and December are on their way to accomplishing big things! Our hats off to them!
Stay tuned to see what’s in store for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources in 2016!
